The Professional Enthusiast

I started a NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month) privately with a few of my writing students on Dec 25th, 2011, completed a rough first draft of some 52,000 words in 30 days and the result eventually became my first published novel, ART IN THE BLOOD, A Sherlock Holmes Adventure, HarperCollins, October 2015. Here’s some...

The original writer of TRON muses on the new Alan Turing biopic THE IMITATION GAME…and the beautiful minds of its subject and star. THE IMITATION GAME was screened for Screen Actors’ Guild yesterday followed by a QandA with star Benedict Cumberbatch and the director Morton Tyldum. Thanks to my friend Patty Smiley, I was...

Here’s Part III on getting through a long writing project without your personal Moriarty, your Inner Critic derailing you. The key is… you know he’ll show up. And you plan ahead. Get ready to vanquish that insidious inner voice telling you to stop writing — the Moriarty of our writing life. In the last...

Every actor wants to be what he or she is not, play what he or she has never played. But we all know actors who keep playing variations of themselves … these are actors with strong personas, usually immensely appealing ones. We return to them over and over, coming home in a sense, to...

Okay, you’ve committed to (or are considering) launching a big project. Maybe a NaNoWriMo one, writing a first draft of a novel in 30 days. Or perhaps a screenplay. You may have tried writing longform before and failed. Or you doubt you can. We all do. Because we all have that evil creature, that...

A novel in 30 days? Oh…hahahahahhahahahahhahahahhahaha. In my first blog, I talked about what a “professional enthusiast” was. It’s someone who allows themselves to be consumed with the problem at hand, relishing the puzzle and the challenge with focus and abandon. People might laugh at you. But you don’t care! You are Sherlock on...

Welcome to my blog, THE PROFESSIONAL ENTHUSIAST. What does that mean? In THE SIGN OF FOUR, John Watson says of Sherlock Holmes: “I had not the professional enthusiasm which carried my companion on.” This refers to the crazy-ass energy, focus and intensity which propels the Great Detective when he’s on a case. Of course, Watson...

What is a Professional Enthusiast?

A professional enthusiast pursues a deep interest with the passion, focus and full-out effort of a pro, regardless of reward. It’s the game for the game’s sake. It’s Sherlock Holmes on a case. It’s you doing what you love.